118 Education for Sustainable Development: Teaching and Learning Case Studies (University College Dublin)

Case Studies Document

Education for Sustainable Development: Teaching and Learning Case Studies

Overview

The case studies presented were part of an interdisciplinary project at University College Dublin entitled: How we teach and learn: Key competencies for engaging with Education for Sustainable Development. The project was funded by the UCD Sustainability Seed Funding Scheme 2024/2025.

Authors

• Dr. Sarah Browne, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science
• Ms. Nicola Dervan, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science
• Dr. Leigh Graves Wolf, Teaching and Learning at UCD
• Dr. Olga Ioannidou, School of Education
• Assoc. Prof. Karen Keaveney, School of Agriculture and Food Science
• Assoc. Prof. Celine Murrin, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science
• Prof. Emma J O’Neill, School of Veterinary Medicine

Disciplines

• Agriculture Forestry, Fisheries and Veterinary
• Health and Welfare
• Social Sciences, Journalism and Information
• Education
• Teaching and Learning

Programmes

• MSc in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics
• MA Education
• MSc Education, Children & Youth
• MSc(Agr) in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development
• BSc Human Nutrition

Student Engagement

The initiative reached 92 students across 5 programmes in 4 modules. There were 56 taught masters students, and of these 10 were international students. There were 36 final year undergraduate students.

Background

It is widely accepted that Higher Education institutions are well placed to take a leadership role as ‘agents of change’ in transforming societies towards a more sustainable future by effectively championing education for sustainable development (ESD) (Berchin, 2021). UNESCO has identified the latter as key to achievement of sustainable development goal (SDG) 4, Quality Education, and in turn a key driver for the other sixteen SDGs. Additionally, there is increasing recognition that in order to tackle the ‘wicked’ global challenges we face, there is a critical need for transdisciplinary engagement with ESD, and in particular, interdisciplinary collaboration in its delivery. What there is less clarity about is how students across all disciplines can be supported in engaging with ESD within their programmes in order to meaningfully embrace sustainability challenges and gain an appreciation and understanding of the relevance of the SDGs to their careers and lives. This is particularly challenging in subject areas not traditionally linked with sustainability, or where the linkage is less intuitive.

UNESCO identified eight, content-independent core competencies considered essential for enabling ‘sustainability citizens’ and the successful achievement of the SDGs (UNESCO, 2017). They include systems thinking, anticipatory, normative, strategic, collaborative, critical thinking, self-awareness, and integrated problem-solving competencies. In an educational setting, competency has been defined as, “a complex combination of knowledge, skills, understanding, values, attitudes and desire which lead to effective, embodied human action in the world, in a particular domain” (Hoskins, 2008).

Gaining proficiency and progression in competence towards mastery of the ESD core competencies requires experiential learning opportunities, and is in turn underpinned by effective metacognitive skills.

Metacognition, or ‘thinking about thinking’ refers to the ability to assess one’s ability or approach, reflect and strategize how to improve and progress (Flavell, 1979). This overall approach is core to effective lifelong learning and, in turn, the ultimate goal of enabling agile, adaptable ‘sustainability citizens’.

Exploring strategies that support staff and students from diverse disciplines in the development of these core ESD competencies, supported by metacognitive approaches, offers huge potential benefits to students and opportunities in turn for meaningful interdisciplinary collaborations.

This initiative engaged the UCD community to explore and strengthen the knowledge and application of key competencies for ESD as a step towards the development of a shared pathway to ESD integration across disciplines.

Description of Approach Taken

A pre-existing case study performed by one of the authors, Emma O’Neill, had explored application of a learning design framework, the Metacognition Design Framework (O’Neill et al. 2025), to support metacognitive skill development in students (Metacognitive Learning Video Case Study). This case study had used this framework and its ‘I-SEE’ learning strategies; Introducing, Signposting, Enabling and Evaluating, as a mechanism for supporting student-centred learning in the module, ‘Veterinary Clinical Neurology’.

This module supported students in action-oriented collaborative groups, working on gradual release clinical problems learning how to critically evaluate and problem solve real-life clinical scenarios. Students were also coached to critically reflect on their learning allowing them to improve and up-skill moving forwards. The students involved had recognised that this approach helped them to become more aware of their learning, prompting them to stop and question if they understood concepts, and aiding them in seeing the ‘big picture.’

Staff noted that taking this approach moved the learning focus towards more holistic approaches building deeper knowledge rather than focussing on surface approaches. The student-centred learning approaches taken in this module align clearly with those outlined by UNESCO as key to supporting ESD (UNESCO, 2017) and sustainability core competency development.

Competencies cannot be taught, but instead must be developed by learners through action, experience and critical reflection on this process. This module provided opportunities for students to develop the eight core competencies referred to by UNESCO, with metacognitive skills underpinning effective development of them all. This module design and the associated learning resources developed as part of this UCD Fellowship in Teaching and Academic Development project were used as a point of reference for the current collaborative project.

The aim of this collaborative project was to design and learn from four real-world case studies in different disciplinary contexts that placed ESD competency development and metacognitive approaches centrally within the teaching and learning activities. The case studies were designed to reflect the disciplines of the collaborative group and, through the nature of the diversity of disciplines involved, the project showcases the potential for transferability and scalability of this approach. The case studies in the following table were designed, developed and trialled in the academic year 2024-25. More detailed descriptions of each of these four individual case studies can be accessed below in this document.

Collaboration, Partnerships & Student Participation

This project was a collaborative project involving multiple disciplines, with the overall aim of exploring the broad applicability of this approach. The disciplines represented included; Nutrition and Dietetics, Education, Rural Development, Human Nutrition, Veterinary Medicine, and Teaching and Learning.

The project team collaborated on the development of the case studies and reviewed them as they developed. Each of the case studies involved students as participants in the modules. Their feedback was gathered informally as part of the process in order to gain insight into their experiences of this approach to learning.

Colleagues from UCD Agile helped to facilitate a World Cafe discussion forum at a UCD community engagement workshop in March 2025, seeking to explore the experiences and views of educators around integration of ESD competencies and application of the approaches showcased in the case studies. The learning from this discussion is being used to frame recommendations for future development of ESD at the university.

Intended Learning Outcomes

This project represents a broad approach that was applied within different modules and programmes. In view of that, the intended learning outcomes were developed specifically for each of the individual case studies rather than for the project overall. The learning outcomes in each case study reflected the inclusion of competency development as a core goal.

The overall outcomes intended from this approach were;

• Firstly, to gain insight into how broadly applicable and adaptable the approaches were for use in a variety of disciplines.
• Secondly, to create example case studies in varied disciplines to offer other educators the opportunity to envisage how the approach could be adapted.
• Thirdly, to identify resources that might be required to facilitate a roll out of this approach more broadly.

Teaching and Learning Approach

The first step for the project was for the project team to examine together both the ESD competencies and the Metacognition Design Framework. The aim was to explore how new ways of learning will support adaptive capacity of graduates / professions to deal with complex problems in interdisciplinary and collaborative ways. Proposed case studies were presented and critically discussed at team meetings.

The exact strategy varied from case study to case study within this initiative; however pedagogical approaches were very similar. All prioritised a student-centred learning with a focus on action- oriented methodology with students working collaboratively on ‘real world’ problems or projects. A critically reflective learning style was encouraged and supported through use of methods, such as the ‘I-SEE’ learning strategies from the Metacognition Design Framework, to develop metacognitive skills in students.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy varied for each of the individual case studies; however a key feature of each was that the assessment had sufficient complexity to require students to engage in metacognitive strategy use to successfully complete the assessment.

For example, the module, “Embedding ESD in Public Health Nutrition” required students to create a concept map highlighting and exploring all of the interrelated factors involved in a given real-world nutritional problem.

Impact & Outcomes

The complexities and extent of current global challenges dictates a transformational shift; there is an increasing acceptance that supporting transdisciplinarity in education is key (Binagwaho, 2022). In order to achieve this type of transdisciplinarity, mechanisms are needed to create opportunities for collaboration and co-creation of knowledge that transcend the disciplines, a situation that starts with common language and shared understanding.

The case studies resulting from this initiative provide accessible examples of ESD competency integration in broad academic settings, and allow other educators insight into how the same approach could be adapted to suit their own disciplines. By demonstrating that ESD extends beyond “green” subjects to encompass critical thinking, self- awareness, and collaborative problem-solving across all disciplines, the outcomes are a step towards transformational change in how sustainability is positioned within higher education curricula.

Best Practices & Resources

Top Tips

This competency-based approach offered an adaptable and practical way to frame education for sustainable development within disciplines not typically perceived as ‘green’ or where sustainability may initially appear less relevant. It offers an accessible starting point to initiate the conversation, with our experiences showing that this in turn provides clear areas for future expansion.

Underpinning this approach with student-centred teaching and learning techniques designed to support critically reflective learning and metacognative skill development helps students to progress their competencies through actively strategising, evaluating their progress, and adjusting their approaches.

Useful Resources

• An infographic from this project can be accessed via UCD Teaching and Learning Resources: Education for Sustainable Development https://www.ucd.ie/teaching/resources/resourcesa-z/
• Metacognitive Learning Resource (developed by Emma O’Neill): Open access experiential learning resource showcasing use of the Metacognitive Design Framework and ‘I-SEE’ Learning Approaches was developed by Emma O’Neill can be accessed via: https://www.ucd.ie/cshe/metacognitivelearning/
• This webpage also contains links to video case studies and a description of the original UCD Fellowship in Teaching and Academic Development study.

Funding Details

The initiative presented received seed funding from UCD Sustainability Office Seed Funding for Sustainability Initiatives 2024.

The Veterinary Clinical Neurology case study referred to was part of a previous UCD Fellowship in Teaching and Academic Development study funded by UCD Teaching and Learning.

About the authors

name: Dr Sarah Browne

institution: University College Dublin

name: Nicola Dervan

institution: University College Dublin

name: Dr Olga Ioannidou

institution: University College Dublin

name: Associate Professor Karen Keaveney

institution: University College Dublin

name: Associate Professor Celine Murrin

institution: University College Dublin

name: Professor Emma O’Neill

institution: University College Dublin

name: Dr Leigh Graves Wolf

institution: University College Dublin